))
#44 - Starcraft Fans
Archived series ("iTunes Redirect" status)
Replaced by: Fanthropological
When?
This feed was archived on January 11, 2018 22:37 (
Why? iTunes Redirect status. The feed contained an iTunes new feed tag.
What now? If you were subscribed to this series when it was replaced, you will now be subscribed to the replacement series. This series will no longer be checked for updates. If you believe this to be in error, please check if the publisher's feed link below is valid and contact support to request the feed be restored or if you have any other concerns about this.
Manage episode 188357089 series 1277260
Content provided by The Nickscast. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by The Nickscast or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.
This week, we’re continuing our journey around the world, venturing to South Korea to up our actions per minute (APM) as we learn more about fans of Starcraft! What is it about this almost-twenty-year-old game that is still so captivating to fans? Or has it lost its allure since the sequel (and many competitors) have been released? And why is it so popular in South Korea, of all places?
Next week, we’ll be heading off to Japan to learn about the world’s most famous virtual idol, Hatsune Miku!
Fandom FactsOrigins:
StarCraft is a military science fiction media franchise … owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The series, set in the beginning of the 26th century, centers on a galactic struggle for dominance among four species—the adaptable and mobile Terrans, the ever-evolving insectoid Zerg, the powerfully enigmatic Protoss, and the “god-like” Xel’Naga creator race.
…
The original game [released in 1998] and its official expansion have been praised as one of the benchmark real-time strategy games of its time. The series has gathered a solid following around the world
— Wikipedia - StarCraft
Size of Fandom:
As of December 2010 (admittedly, not the most recent data) StarCraft II had sold over 4.5 million copies, and had over 2 million illegal downloads (setting a record for most data transferred by a single torrent in only three months).
By June 2007, Starcraft and its expansion, Brood War, had sold nearly 10 million copies combined (4.5 million, of which, were sold in South Korea alone).
The StarCraft reddit has over 190 000 subscribers, and the StarCraft II subreddit has over 10 000.
Changes in Fandom:
Interest in StarCraft has been on the decline with interest reaching its height in August 2010 (the release of Starcraft II), and some other spikes in (Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm’s release) and May 2007 (the Blizzard World Wide Invitational hosted in Korea).
Last Episode’s Famous Last Words
Z
In the game StarCraft, there are three races you can choose: which is most popular in South Korea and why?
G
Is StarCraft an expression of Korea’s interest in sci-fi in general (compared to China and Warcraft)?
T
StarCraft 2 is less popular than StarCraft 1 because it sucks.
T is out
G is out. Doesn’t need anymore.
Z is out.
This week’s spotlightNo spotlight this week. Sorry folks.
Famous Last WordsThis week’s famous last words around next week’s fandom, Hatsune Miku!
Z
Hatsune Miku is popular in part due to dating sims.
G
A portion of her fanbase does not know that she is not a real person.
T
Are there male counterparts? Is Hatsune Miku peak moe?
We are everywhere! Most notably though, we like to hang out in a few places on social media:
- If you want to help us to create more amazing fannish content, become a patron on Patreon; even as little as a dollar a month pledge really helps us out! If you want to be part of our podcast (or just want to check us out), we record our podcast LIVE on twitch.tv every monday at 20:00 Eastern Time! For all the latest updates, check us out on Facebook or Twitter To see the latest hijinx from our conventions or even our daily lives and adventures, check us out on Instagram For our latest convention updates, Let’s Plays, and other in-real-life video, check out our YouTube channel We’re also on iTunes, and Google Play, and would love it if you could leave a review and rating! if you want to reach us, and for some reason none of those work for you, try nick@thenickscast.com You can check out our website; that will mostly bring you back to this stuff. Everything is thenickscast, so if you can’t find us, go on your social network and search for that! … You’re still looking for ways to reach out? You can also use the hashtag #fanthro on Twitter!
How did you read this far without asking this question?!
Fanthropological is an anthropological (ish) podcast where we bring the fan’s-eye view to you! Each week, we take a look at a different fandom, dig up interesting background, trivia, and history, and try to get to why it is that people are a fan. We also try to highlight good causes related to that fandom, and find interesting things that fans have created to share those to the world. Each episode is about an hour. Ish.
Who is “The Nickscast”?We are the Nickscast! Three products of late-80s / early-90s pop culture who love exploring fandom and everything geek … who also happen to have been best buddies since high school, and all happen to be named Nick. Yes, we are super creative. Dare we say, the most creative.
Ahem
We are Nick Green, Nick Terwoord, and Nick Zacharewicz: We started the Nickscast as a labour of love, and as a place to entertain and to discuss our love of fans and fandom, and all that is shiny and interesting in that realm. It’s what lead us to start our first podcast, our satellite podcasts, Fanthropological, and so much more.
We want to help others learn more about different fandoms, and to create empathy with other fans: We dream of a world where other fans aren’t “those Weird-o’s”, but just folks with different tastes. A world where fandom is full of discourse and analysis, and there are plenty of tools and resources to help. Fans building communities to do good in the world. Because everyone’s a fan.
Credits Sources- Ars Technica - Build, gather, brawl, repeat: The history of real-time strategy games Wikipedia - StarCraft Wikipedia - StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Quora - Why do some people prefer the original Starcraft to Starcraft 2? Kotaku - Why is StarCraft so popular in Korea? Kotaku - The End Of An Era For StarCraft and South Korea Youtube - Starcraft - A Blank Canvas IGN - THE RISE AND FALL OF STARCRAFT II AS AN ESPORT Cracked - 5 Insane True Facts About StarCraft: The Professional Sport RankedFTW - 1v1 Race Distribution Quora - How did StarCraft get so popular in South Korea? Why did it not become hugely popular in Japan, where a lot of similar cultural forces are in effect? Ask a Korean! - Why is StarCraft Popular in Korea? Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada - Zergling Rush: A Look at the Assailing South Korean Gaming Industry SC2VN - Home decal.org - Game Theory With Applications to Starcraft Scientific American - How a Computer Game is Reinventing the Science of Expertise NPR - U.S. Recognizaes A South Korean StarCraft Player As An Athlete The Guardian - StarCraft II and The Bad Boy of Pro-Gaming Daum.net TIP - Protoss, Terran, Zerg - What Should I Do? Dot Esports - Why Protoss has Dominated Pro ‘StarCraft 2’ in 2014
- All music and sound for this week’s episode were provided by Nick Green!
- “Glasses” by Anton Anuchin used under CC BY 3.0 “Strategy” by Thomas’ designs used under CC BY 3.0 “Alien” by NOPIXEL used under CC BY 3.0
62 episodes
Share
